--- title: "The River That Built a Town: Ramseur’s Past Shapes Future Conservation (Part Two) | Unique Places to Save" description: Explore how the Deep River restoration project in Ramseur intertwines community history and ecological health, shaping a vibrant future for the town. image: https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/photo%20of%20ramseur%20deep%20river.jpg --- [![Unique Places to Save logo](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hs-fs/hubfs/logo%20horizontal-1.png?width=1254&height=380&name=logo%20horizontal-1.png "Unique Places to Save logo")](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/) - [PROJECTS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/projects) - SERVICES - [FOR MITIGATION BANKERS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/conservation-mitigation) - [FOR LAND MANAGERS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/land-planners-managers) - [FOR LANDOWNERS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/conservation-for-landowners) - [FOR RESTORATION PARTNERS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/dam-removals) - ABOUT - [OUR GOALS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/our-goals) - [OUR VALUES](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/our-values) - [OUR TEAM](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/team) - [CONTACT US](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/contact) - UPDATES - [CONSERVATION EASEMENTS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-easements) - [MITIGATION BANKING](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/mitigation-banking) - [WORKING LANDS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/working-lands) - [RIVERS, WETLANDS & DAMS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/rivers-wetlands-dams) - [CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-and-development) - [CONSERVATION STORIES](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-stories) - [ORGANIZATION NEWS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/organization-news) - [ALL POSTS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news) [Donate](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/wetland-keepers) [Donate](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/wetland-keepers) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ![A shallow rocky river running through summer woodland.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/photo%20of%20ramseur%20deep%20river.jpg) # The River That Built a Town: Ramseur’s Past Shapes Future Conservation (Part Two) Sam Warnock - August 2026 ![](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/unique-places-theme/images/sep-1-0.png) This is the second installment in a two-part series on the Deep River restoration project in Ramseur, North Carolina. For this series, I sat down with Mayor Hampton Spivey and Town Clerk Carol Akers to hear how growing up alongside the Deep River shaped their values and their vision for the town's future. Part One featured Hampton's interview. This is Carol's.Mayor Hampton Spivey and Town Clerk Carol Akers each bring something different to this project, and together they represent the two foundations we believe every good conservation effort needs, much like the left and right hands working together. While they both love Ramseur deeply, the lens through which they each view the river offers a nuanced, yet vital, distinction. Hampton represents the "Left Hand": a deep personal connection to the wild and a belief that nature deserves to be healthy simply because it exists. [His interview can be found in Part One](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/the-river-that-built-a-town-ramseurs-past-shapes-future-conservation-part-one). Carol represents the "Right Hand," the connection to community. To Carol, the river is the stage where people have gathered and connected across generations. Here is what Carol had to say.   ## Carol Akers: The Relational Value  *Carol Akers tends to approach the project through more of a community lens. A lifelong resident of Ramseur, Carol traces her family’s roots back to the founding of the town when it was just a simple grist mill powered by the very waters we are working to restore. To her, the river is the historic thread that binds the people of Ramseur together.* **Q: How long have you lived in Ramseur? What brought you here and made you stay?** **Carol:** My entire life. My dad was here before that, his parents and grandparents brought him to town specifically to work at the cotton mill. They all lived, the five of them, in one company house, and they walked across the bridge every day and went to the company mill to work. They owed money to the company store like everybody else, and got paid in "script" instead of real money. It was a different time. I was taught, you get with the company, and you stay there until you retire, be good to them, and they'll be good to you. **Q: It sounds like a tight-knit community. Do you have a favorite memory from your time living here?** **Carol:** I loved running all over town, just like my daddy did when he was growing up. He would take me everywhere, and I would go to the Street Department of the Town Hall where the men worked or gathered to talk on Saturdays. I'd just sit there with them and listen to them talk about what was going on in Ramseur. It was vibrant in those days. **Q: How did the Deep River play a role in that community connection back then?** **Carol:** The whole town started out around a grist mill, which was my ancestor’s. They built the grist mill so they could use the water power to spin the wheel. And people could come to town to get their corn ground up. That’s what started the town, just the river and a grist mill. Back in the day, there used to be a boat ramp right near the dam. It was just a little short trip down to the dam, but people put their motorboats in on Saturdays and Sundays and just rode to the dam and back up. Two of the neighbors on my street had boats. One was blue and one was red and they would go down there on Sundays. **Q: What kind of a role do you see the Deep River playing in the town's future?** **Carol:** The river got Ramseur here, and the river will bring us back to life. We never imagined that a trail could actually happen when we made our wish list years ago, so we are so excited to see it now. I envision that developments will do trails that hook up to this trail so people have access. I’d love to see tubing on the river. You could put in a tube at Ramseur and go all the way to Coleridge. **Q: What is your hope for the dam removal specifically?** **Carol:** I know it \[the dam\] is a part of our history, but \[removing\] it will return the river to its original state whenever people first started settling around here. I'd love to see it come full circle. I would love to cross the river my ever-how-many times per day, and see families down there enjoying kayaking or tubing. **Q: If you had to describe the project's impact on Ramseur in one word, what would you pick?** **Carol:** Potential.   ### The Yin and Yang of Conservation  Hampton sees the river as something worth protecting in its own right: healthy and free, because nature has value simply by existing. Carol sees it as the thread that holds a community together, the place where people gather, build memories, and pass something meaningful on to the next generation. Both views are right, and both are necessary. This is a core truth about conservation work. It can't succeed if it's only about the ecosystem; it also has to be about the people who depend on it and the values that make them want to protect it. The Deep River is a fitting example. In Ramseur, you have an 81-year-old mayor who slept on the riverbanks as a kid, and a town clerk whose family helped build the very town the river made possible. Their love for this place, and their shared belief in what it can still become, is exactly the kind of foundation that makes lasting conservation possible.   ### Help Us Unlock Potential Projects like this remind us that conservation is about more than just hydrology or ecology; it's about building a foundation for resilient, vibrant communities. By supporting Unique Places to Save, you are directly contributing to projects that bridge the gap between ecological health and community revitalization. Whether it's advocating for healthier waterways or supporting local greenways, your voice matters in ensuring these resources are protected for future generations.    About the Author![Sam Warnock, Aquatic Resources Manager](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hs-fs/hubfs/samuel%20warnock.png?width=208&height=208&name=samuel%20warnock.png) Sam Warnock brings in-depth experience with ecosystem services, natural capital accounting, and environmental regulations based on his time spent in the private environmental sector and his education. His experience stems from projects related to regulatory permitting, chemical analysis, and EPA compliance.  He has overseen a broad range of projects across the globe with a focus on environmental sustainability. [Learn More](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/sam-warnock-aquatic-resources-manager) #### We are a trusted partner for river conservation projects to restore habitats to their natural state   [Learn More](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/dam-removals) ![A slow stream winds through an open wetland meadow lined with cattails and shrubs, with a band of trees on the horizon under a golden evening sky.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/image%20of%20wetlands%20conservation.jpg) [Financial Benefits](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/financial-benefits), [Unique Places to Save](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/unique-places-to-save), [Land Conservation](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/land-conservation), [Conservation Stories](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-stories) Michael Scisco, September 2026 ### [What Happens After a Mitigation Bank is Complete?](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/mitigation-bank-long-term-management) Regulatory closeout is a major milestone for a mitigation bank. It confirms that the required restoration or enhancement work has been completed, performance standards have been met, and the formal monitoring and maintenance period can end.... ![Pink survey flagging tied to shrubs along a marsh-lined creek on the Point Farm conservation easement, with a weathered stump standing in the still water.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/point%20farm%20conservation%20mitigation%20easement.jpg) [Financial Benefits](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/financial-benefits), [Unique Places to Save](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/unique-places-to-save), [Land Conservation](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/land-conservation), [Conservation Stories](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-stories) Mandi Taylor, September 2026 ### [The Impossibility of Capturing Nature in a PDF](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/baseline-documentation-report) Every profession has the gap between what the job looks like on paper and what actually happens on the ground. In land conservation, that divide can be neatly summarized by one specific, legal document: the Baseline Documentation Report (BD... ![Mandi Taylor smiling beside a tree in bare winter woods, wearing a cap and a daypack, with pine needles covering the slope behind her.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/mandi%20in%20the%20field.jpg) [Financial Benefits](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/financial-benefits), [Unique Places to Save](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/unique-places-to-save), [Land Conservation](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/land-conservation), [Conservation Stories](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-stories) Mandi Taylor, September 2026 ### [Behind the Scenes of Land Stewardship](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/what-does-a-land-steward-do) When people think of land conservation wins, they usually picture all the work and coordination required to place land with rich ecological, historical, or cultural value into a conservation easement. And they are right to celebrate those e... ![A shallow rocky river running through summer woodland.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/photo%20of%20ramseur%20deep%20river.jpg) [Financial Benefits](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/financial-benefits), [Unique Places to Save](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/unique-places-to-save), [Land Conservation](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/land-conservation), [Conservation Stories](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-stories) Sam Warnock, August 2026 ### [The River That Built a Town: Ramseur’s Past Shapes Future Conservation (Part Two)](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/the-river-that-built-a-town-ramseurs-past-shapes-future-conservation-part-two) This is the second installment in a two-part series on the Deep River restoration project in Ramseur, North Carolina. For this series, I sat down with Mayor Hampton Spivey and Town Clerk Carol Akers to hear how growing up alongside the Deep... 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